The Universe Works To Its Own Accord
by thefireascending
Summary: Zanna is attacked by the Ix within the supposed safety of the Pennykettle home. Set some time near the beginning of Dark Fire. One shot. Copyright allocated to this account.


Zanna looked up from her computer. Her eyesight had altered slightly and a faint humming could be heard in her left ear. She tried to explore where the sound was coming from, but every time she tried, it was as though an extra barricade had been erected.

Stumbling down the stairs, Zanna clutched her head and tried to think of something other than the throbbing. There she found Lucy, placing a pair of her shoes neatly (according to her) in the cupboard. "Luce," she whispered.

Lucy lifted her gaze. Pointing to her ear, Zanna made a slight gesture with her free hand. "The Ix?" Lucy asked, somewhat incredulously. Zanna nodded. "Of all the things you've said to me, this is one cruel joke, Zanna." She tried not to show it, but there was no hiding the quiver in her voice.

"Lucy, I'm not-" But before Zanna could finish her sentence, she was thrown into the wall, a sharp gust of air leaving her stomach. A droplet of blood trickled down her forehead, fading out just above her eyebrow.

Lucy screamed for her mother, frozen to the spot. With the memories of her encounter with the Ix still fresh in her mind, she knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of their hatred.

Just as Liz came bundling through the garden door, another cool wind swept through the house, and before anyone had the chance to move- let alone stop it happening- Zanna flew head first into the mirror. Her face collided with a sickening smash, and the blood tripled in amount.

"Zanna!" Liz yelled, pushing Lucy back with a gentle shove. She took a step closer to the girl now sprawled out on the floor. Seeing the movement of feet, Zanna pulled herself together and scrambled back, attempting with all her might to stand. "Zanna, let me see."

Zanna looked up, hoping to see the comforting green eyes and flare of red hair. But she was far from prepared for what was kneeling down in front of her. She scurried closer to the door, her back now pushing against the wood.

A darkling. Large. Hideous. Rotting teeth. Entrails wedged between the gaps. But its image kept changing: Liz, then darkling; Liz, then darkling. It made Zanna's head spin. "David never loved you," it spoke. "He is no more than Fain."

"He cared at the time."

"He was made to." That struck Zanna hard. Countless times she'd lie in bed, unable to sleep, wondering whether David's love was true. Falling in love with someone who wasn't even human certainly wasn't top of the agenda when she had first sent that email. Zanna smilded, remembering the day she visited Liz'z house, the way David had misjudged her. Surely that was real. It had to be.

Hearing a low fluttering, Zanna turned her head, coming face to nose with a long-beaked raven, indentical to the ones that had attacked her before. It held a sharp talon under her face, urging itself closer towards her.

"Nope. No, that's it," Zanna said. She stood up and pushed past them all, willing her fear to not stop her now. As she neared the garden, she could see David standing outside, head to the sky. _Just walk past_, she told herself. _Don't stop._

Accidentally colliding with his shoulder, she walked on, hearing the darkling's (or was it Liz's?) voice call from behind: "David, stop her!" An arm gripped the top of her shoulder, spinning her body back around.  
It was David, no doubt about that. Normal. Well, as normal as he could be. "Zanna, what are you doing?" Worry etched his tone, but could she believe that it was true?

"Let go of me," she said, a sharp edge to her voice.

"They're right, you know?"

Zanna tried tugging her arm from his grip again. "About what?" she growled.

"I'm a construct of the Fain. False feelings." Zanna felt her heart sink for the second time. "Look me in the eyes," he said.

With a shake of her head, a small whimper left Zanna's lips.

"Look me in the eyes." And this time, she did. David's eyes were as black as her hair, but in the space of a second, they flashed violet.

"I don't understand," Zanna whispered, as her eyes drifted shut and she lost her balance completely, but not before David had reached out his arms to catch her. He scooped her up, supporting Zanna's head with his hands. Her hair toppled down, nearly extending to the floor.

"Got her," David said, walking back inside. Liz had visible streaks running down her pale face. Lucy was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, huddled in her own little ball of self-protection. "Hey," he said again, comforting them both. "She'll be fine."

When Zanna woke, she was lying on the sofa- Gretel wafting flowers under her nose, David tending to a wound on her head. She sat up, pushing David's arm away. "I don't want..." she trailed off, registering the way all eyes were on her. "What? What did I do?"

"Can you hear a humming?" Lucy asked, finally catching Zanna's eye from across the room, earning a glare from her mother.

Zanna gasped, the memory coming back to her. She drew her knees up and placed them under her body, flinching away from David's hand as he tried to convince her everything was OK. "You were..." she directed the sentence to Liz. "You were a darkling, you-"

"Zanna, it never happened," David cut in. Ignoring her protests, he took her hands in his own. "The Ix invaded your mind, like they did to Lucy. They have the ability to make you visualise scenarios that aren't true. They also have the ability to control your body, hence this nasty cut." David wiped a cloth across her forehead, clearing up any remaining blood.

"You don't have to do that," Zanna said, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. David simply carried on as though the sentence hadn't been spoken.

Zanna winced as the disinfectant seeped further into the wound. "Just what I need." David glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow. "Another scar," she laughed.

David smiled then put the bottle and the cloth down on the table. It was at this point that she realised everybody else had disappeared from the room, leaving them alone. David put a hand on her knee, sighing when she flinched from the contact. "When the Ix invaded your mind," he said. Zanna nodded, prompting him to continue. "You said Liz was a darkling, and I take it Gretel was a raven?" Zanna nodded again. "So what was I?"

The temperature in the room dropped. "Nothing," she said.

"Nothing?"

"You were you." Zanna avoided meeting his eyes, but she could have sworn she heard his breathing slow.

"But what did you _hear_?" he said.

Seconds passed. The hand on the clock went round. "You lied to me," she whispered.

David couldn't stand it anymore. He reached for her chin and tilted it upwards, her eyes a warm, familiar scenery. "Lied about what?"

"Before it all happened, you would tell me that you loved me. But you didn't, did you? You may have thought you did, but that was what the Fain needed. And it was all just to bring Alexa into being. She'll leave like you did, then what do I have left? It'll be me, alone." Zanna rose to stand, but David gently held her shoulders down.

"No one's going to leave you for good. I came back, didn't I? Zanna, I meant what I said." David pulled himself to his feet. "I love you." He kissed her forehead before walking out of the room, a single tear making its way down his cheek, no matter how much the Fain in him tried to resist.

Meanwhile, Zanna was left sitting on the sofa, wondering how her life had ever reached this point. She raised a hand to the spot where David's lips had been, but now she wished he hadn't left so soon. And she didn't know whether she should allow herself to do that.

Minutes passed, and before long, Zanna grew tired of the ultimatum she had been given. He had left it down to her; she was to decide how they progressed from here. A flutter of wings drew her attention to the door.

_Hrr_, Gretel whimpered, wary of whether to enter.

"It's safe to come in," Zanna smiled. "I'm okay. Promise."

With a prominent flick of her tail, Gretel flew to her shoulder, nudging her face against Zanna's cheek. The notion was familiar, welcomed. _Arthur wants to see you_, she hurred, causing the sibyl to emit a long-awaited sigh.

"And Alexa?"

_With Liz._

Liz. The guilt Zanna now felt. She must be driving herself mad from the simple retaliation Zanna had experienced to her touch. "Tell him I'll be there later."

Gretel placed a paw on her mistress' shoulder in an action of loyalty, before retreating from the room. In the silence that followed, Zanna found herself growing less and less accustomed to the idea of visiting Arthur. She knew him, and she knew his methods well. Right now, she'd rather wallow in the pity of her situation than be made to face it- regardless of how selfish that may have been.

"Liz?" Zanna asked quietly, peering her head around the door. Liz was standing at the sink, busying herself with the dishes. Hearing Zanna's voice, she turned.

"Oh, Zanna! Are you okay? Should you be up and walking so early?" The distress was clear in her voice, her green pools swimming.

With one hand still clasped around the door frame, Zanna took a step forward. Her figure was small and frail, cadverous beneath the black. "I'm fine," she said. "It's fine."

"And the Ix?" Liz whispered, motioning to her ear out of habit.

"Assumed to be gone. One final entity. Too weak to colonise, yet just enough energy for a flare of revenge. Or at least, that's what David thinks. After all, he is right up there with them."

Liz's gaze softened. "You can't hold him accountable forever."

"I know," said Zanna.

"Do you?" And after cupping a hand around the young girl's cheek, Liz left the room in a flurry, calling Lucy's name. The listening dragon peered at its toes, unsure of whether to speak. Zanna noticed the action and shot him a wide grin, her teeth reflecting the light of the day. The weather outside was almost suspiciously grand; the sun lay high in the sky, and not a cloud was in sight. She grimaced at the irony.

On her head, the wound began to ache once more, sending a jolt of undesired pain through Zanna's body. Swinging open the cupboard door with more force than necessary, she grabbed a bottle of herbs.

"What did the door ever do to you?" a small voice said from the hall. Lucy was standing there, shrunken into herself.

"Hey," Zanna said, holding the bottle for all to see.

"What's that for?" The girl stepped further into the kitchen.

Zanna pointed to her head and shrugged. "The pain came back a little quicker than expected." There was a pause. "The Ix are gone, Luce. You don't have to worry."

But Lucy didn't look too sure. "But how do you know that?"

"I don't. However, I'm willing to bet my last bangle that you trust David's words a lot more than mine," she said, cheering the girl up at her own expense.

Staring profusely at her feet- as the listening dragon had done previously- Lucy muttered, "I thought you were going to die."

Despite the facade she aimed to keep up, Zanna's voice wavered slightly as she said, "Can't get rid of me that easily."

And although it was a secret she kept to herself, Zanna often wondered just how many times she'd been so close to death. But she knew by now that the universe worked to its own accord.


End file.
